Rogbere - RC St Michael Primary School

Photo of Rogbere - RC St Michael Primary School

Project Snapshot

Country: Sierra Leone

GPS Coordinates:
  Latitude 8.306950
  Longitude -12.995683

Impact:
  Total Served: 400

Status:  Completed (?)

Completion Date (or estimate): 12/30/2010

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When the team arrived the community was utilizing a river as their primary source of water and because of this residents were suffering from Dysentery, Typhoid and Malaria. During the team's stay the community assisted with the water project whenever possible. The majority of community residents sustain a living by teaching, petty trading, farming and fetching palm wine for vendors. The nearest school is located in the community. This school was constructed in 1972 and is a Primary school holding grades 1-6. It was founded by the Catholic Mission and has since become a government supported school. Six of the seven teachers are paid by the government. The toilets they have are the second pit toilets since the school was constructed. Students do not have to pay school fees, but not all students have books. The teachers write most of the lessons on the chalk board. All of the students have benches and tables, and the deputy teacher sleeps at the school for security purposes. Before leaving the community the team provided community resident Allie Conteh with a LWI contact number in case their well were to fall into disrepair, become subject to vandalism or theft.

The team had an opportunity to meet with Mariatu Kamara a female fifth grade student who stated, "The water from the waterside is dirty. We don't clean around the water site, and we wash our clothes there. The waterside water does not taste good. My belly hurts and I get diarrhea. I feel fine that the school got this new hand pump. I think the water is clean from the pump. The water tastes different, and I like the taste of the water from the well using the hand pump."

During the hygiene education the following principal issues were addressed: Disease transmission, Germs, Healthy Unhealthy Communities, Oral Rehydration Solution, Proper care of the pump, Keeping the water clean, Good-bad hygiene behaviors, Disease Transmission Stories, Clean Hands Clean Hearts and Dental Hygiene.



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Country Details

Sierra Leone

Population: 9.7 Million
Lacking clean water: 47%
Below poverty line: 70%
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season; winter dry season
Languages: English, Mende, Temne, Krio
Ethnic Groups: 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10%
Life Expectancy: 48 years
Infant Mortality Rate: 155 deaths per 1000 live births

Partner Profile

Living Water International

Nearly 20 years ago, we set out to help the church in North America be the hands and feet of Jesus by serving the poorest of the poor. 600 million people in the world live on less than $2 a day. 884 million people lack access to safe drinking water.


For all practical purposes, these statistics refer to the same people; around the world, communities are trapped in debilitating poverty because they constantly suffer from water-related diseases and parasites, and/or because they spend long stretches of their time carrying water over long distances.


In response to this need, we implement participatory, community-based water solutions in developing countries. Since we started, we’ve completed water projects for 7,000 communities in 26 countries.


It all began in 1990, when a group from Houston, Texas traveled to Kenya and saw the desperate need for clean drinking water. They returned to Houston and founded a 501(c)3 non-profit. The fledgling organization equipped and trained a team of Kenyan drillers, and LWI Kenya began operations the next year under the direction of a national board.


That pattern continues today; we train, consult, and equip local people to implement solutions in their own countries.


Remembering the life-changing nature of that first trip in 1990, we also lead hundreds of volunteers on mission trips each year, working with local communities, under the leadership of nationals, to implement water projects. It’s hard to know which lives are changed more—those “serving” or those “being served.”


Our training programs in shallow well drilling, pump repair, and hygiene education have equipped thousands of volunteers and professionals in the basics of integrated water solutions since 1997.


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